Finland women's national football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Finland national football team.

The Finland women's national football team, also known as nickname The Boreal Owls (Finnish: Helmarit), represents Finland in international women's football. The team, controlled by the Football Association of Finland (SPL/FBF), reached the semi-finals of the 2005 European Championship, surprising the female football world having drawn with Sweden and beaten Denmark. Finland hosted the 2009 EC finals.

Finland

Nickname(s)	Helmarit (the Boreal Owls)
Association	Football Association of Finland (Suomen Palloliitto)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Marko Saloranta (interim)
Captain	Tinja-Riikka Korpela
Most caps	Anna Westerlund (145)
Top scorer	Linda Sällström (51)
FIFA code	FIN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	30 1 (13 October 2022)
Highest	14 (September 2005)
Lowest	32 (March 2019)
First international
Finland 0–0 Sweden (Mariehamn, Åland 25 August 1973)
Biggest win
Bulgaria 0–8 Finland (Lovech, Bulgaria 21 August 2014)
Biggest defeat
Denmark 9–0 Finland (Vejen, Denmark 26 July 1975)
European Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2005)
Best result	Semi-finals (2005)

The Finnish team has had a few players that are considered to be among the best in women's football, such as Laura Österberg Kalmari, Sanna Valkonen and Anne Mäkinen.

As of August 2022, the team is ranked 29th in the FIFA world ranking. From 2004 to 2010 the typical ranking was #16.

History

The beginning

The Finland women's national football team played its first international match in 1973 against Sweden. The game was played in Mariehamn, Åland.

Team image

Nicknames

The Finland women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Helmarit (the Boreal Owls)".

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022

France v Finland

16 February 2022 Tournoi de France	France	5–0	Finland	Le Havre, France
	Westerlund 12' (o.g.) Malard 16' Renard 34', 89' Geyoro 57'	Report		Stadium: Stade Océane Referee: Eszter Urbán (Hungary)

Finland v Netherlands

19 February 2022 Tournoi de France	Finland	0–3	Netherlands	Le Havre, France
		Report	Dijkstra 24' Snoeijs 36', 49'	Stadium: Stade Océane

Brazil v Finland

22 February 2022 Tournoi de France	Brazil	0–0	Finland	Le Havre, France
				Stadium: Stade Océane Referee: Victoria Beyer (France)

Slovakia v Finland

Finland v Georgia

12 April 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A	Finland	6–0	Georgia	Helsinki
17:15 (18:15 EEST)	Alanen 24' Summanen 35' (pen.), 65' Engman 39' Kalandadze 55' (o.g.) Danielsson 73'	Report		Stadium: Bolt Arena Referee: Reelika Turi (Estonia)

Finland v Japan

27 June Friendly	Finland	1–5	Japan	Turku, Finland
--:-- UTC+2				Stadium: Veritas Stadium

Netherlands v Finland

2 July Friendly	Netherlands	2–0	Finland	Enschede, Netherlands
18:00 UTC+1				Stadium: De Grolsch Veste

Spain v Finland

8 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Spain	4–1	Finland	Milton Keynes, England
	Guerrero 26' Bonmatí 41' L. García 75' M. Caldentey 90+5' (pen.)	Report	Sällström 1'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 16,819 Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)

Denmark v Finland

12 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Denmark	1–0	Finland	Milton Keynes, England
		Report		Stadium: Stadium MK

Finland v Germany

16 July UEFA Euro 2022 group stage	Finland	0–3	Germany	Milton Keynes, England
		Report	Kleinherne 40' Popp 48' Anyomi 63'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 20,721 Referee: Emikar Calderas Barrera (Venezuela)

Republic of Ireland v Finland

1 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A	Republic of Ireland	1–0	Finland	Dublin
17:00 (20:00 GET)	Agg 54'	Report		Stadium: Tallaght Stadium Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Finland v Sweden

Wales v Finland

12 November Friendly	Wales	1–1	Finland	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
--:-- UTC+1

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of August 2022

• Head coach: Marko Saloranta (interim)
• Assistant coach: Marianne Miettinen
• Assistant coach: Mika Sankala
• Assistant coach: Ann-Helen Grahm
• Goalkeeping coach: Aki Moilanen

Manager history

See also: Category:Finland women's national football team managers

As of 24 July 2022

Tenure	Coach	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
1973–77	Juhani Nirkkonen	12	1	1	10	008.33
1978	Simo Syrjävaara	3	1	1	1	033.33
1979–89	Kaj Österberg	44	13	12	19	029.55
1989–92	Jyrki Nieminen	24	3	4	17	012.50
1993–96	Nils Suomalainen	24	4	5	15	016.67
1996–00	Reima Kokko	46	11	3	32	023.91
2001–09	Michael Käld	107	35	22	50	032.71
2010–16	Andrée Jeglertz	76	27	13	36	035.53
2017	Marko Saloranta	6	2	0	4	033.33
2017–2022	Anna Signeul	47	19	11	17	040.43
2022–	Marko Saloranta	0	0	0	0	!—

Players

Finland

The squad was announced on 9 June 2022 for Women Euro 2022.

Stats after match with Germany on 17 July 2022. Head coach: Anna Signeul

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Katriina Talaslahti	(2000-09-21) 21 September 2000	2	0	FC Fleury 91
12	1GK	Anna Tamminen	(1994-10-30)30 October 1994 (aged 27)	6	0	Hammarby
23	1GK	Tinja-Riikka Korpela (captain)	(1986-05-05)5 May 1986 (aged 36)	109	0	Tottenham Hotspur
2	2DF	Elli Pikkujämsä	(1999-10-24) 24 October 1999	18	0	KIF Örebro DFF
3	2DF	Tuija Hyyrynen	(1988-03-10)10 March 1988 (aged 34)	121	3	Unattached
5	2DF	Emma Koivisto	(1994-09-25)25 September 1994 (aged 27)	78	3	Liverpool
6	2DF	Anna Auvinen	(1987-03-02)2 March 1987 (aged 35)	20	0	Unattached
11	2DF	Nora Heroum	(1994-07-20)20 July 1994 (aged 27)	84	1	Parma
15	2DF	Natalia Kuikka	(1995-12-01)1 December 1995 (aged 26)	71	3	Portland Thorns
16	2DF	Anna Westerlund	(1989-04-09)9 April 1989 (aged 33)	145	4	Åland United
4	3MF	Ria Öling	(1994-09-15)15 September 1994 (aged 27)	62	9	Rosengård
8	3MF	Olga Ahtinen	(1997-08-15)15 August 1997 (aged 24)	46	3	Linköpings FC
9	3MF	Juliette Kemppi	(1994-05-14)14 May 1994 (aged 28)	64	5	IFK Kalmar
10	3MF	Emmi Alanen	(1991-04-30)30 April 1991 (aged 31)	97	21	Kristianstads DFF
13	3MF	Jenny Danielsson	(1994-08-30)30 August 1994 (aged 27)	39	7	Rangers
19	3MF	Essi Sainio	(1986-09-09)9 September 1986 (aged 35)	58	3	HJK
20	3MF	Eveliina Summanen	(1998-05-29)29 May 1998 (aged 24)	44	7	Tottenham Hotspur
7	4FW	Adelina Engman	(1994-10-11)11 October 1994 (aged 27)	85	12	Hammarby
14	4FW	Heidi Kollanen	(1997-06-06)6 June 1997 (aged 25)	19	2	KIF Örebro DFF
17	4FW	Sanni Franssi	(1995-03-19)19 March 1995 (aged 27)	60	3	Real Sociedad
18	4FW	Linda Sällström	(1988-07-13)13 July 1988 (aged 33)	120	51	Vittsjö GIK
21	4FW	Amanda Rantanen	(1998-05-11)11 May 1998 (aged 24)	13	1	KIF Örebro DFF
22	4FW	Jutta Rantala	(1999-11-11)11 November 1999 (aged 22)	8	1	Vittsjö GIK

Recent call ups

The following players have been called up to the squad in the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
MF	Iina Salmi	(1994-10-12) 12 October 1994	14	1	Valencia	v. Brazil, 22 February 2022

Records

See also: Category:Finland women's international footballers

*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 9 July 2022

Most capped players

Anna Westerlund currently holds the record for the most appearances for the Finland women's national football team.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Years
1	Anna Westerlund	145	4	2008–
2	Laura Österberg Kalmari	130	41	1996–2011
3	Tuija Hyyrynen	121	3	2007–
4	Sanna Valkonen	120	7	1995–2009
	Linda Sällström		51	2007–
6	Anne Mäkinen	118	16	1991–2009
	Jessica Julin		4	1997–2009
8	Tinja-Riikka Korpela (GK)	109	0	2007–
9	Anna-Kaisa Rantanen	105	8	1996–2011
10	Sanna Talonen	103	36	2004–2014
11	Katri Mattsson	100	2	1999–2015

Source:

Top goalscorers

Linda Sällström currently holds the record for the most goals for the Finland women's national football team.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Years	Avg
1	Linda Sällström	51	120	2007–	0,425
2	Laura Österberg Kalmari	41	130	1996–2011	0,315
3	Sanna Talonen	36	103	2004–2014	0,35
4	Emmi Alanen	21	97	2010–	0,216
5	Annica Sjölund	17	69	2006–2014	0,246
6	Anne Mäkinen	16	118	1991–2009	0,136
7	Heidi Kackur	12	48	1999–2005	0,25
	Adelina Engman	12	85	2012–	0,141
9	Maija Saari	11	94	2007–2016	0,117
10	Ria Öling	9	62	2015–	0,145
11	Anu Toikka	8	29	1979–1992	0,276
	Susanna Heikari	8	44	1994–2002	0,182
	Anna-Kaisa Rantanen	8	105	1996–2011	0,076

Source:

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD		GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not qualify									UEFA Euro 1991
1995										UEFA Euro 1995
1999										8	3	1	4	8	9	−1
2003										6	1	0	5	4	24	−20
2007										8	5	1	2	16	5	+11
2011										8	6	1	1	25	6	+19
2015										10	7	0	3	27	9	+18
2019										8	3	1	4	9	13	−4
2023										To be determined
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		48	25	4	19	89	66	+23

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship record										Qualifying record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD		GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1984	Did not qualify									6	2	0	4	5	17	−12
1987										6	1	2	3	2	6	−4
1989										6	1	2	3	9	11	−2
1991										6	1	2	3	3	6	−3
1993										4	0	2	2	3	12	−9
1995										6	2	3	1	8	7	+1
1997										8	1	1	6	2	24	−22
2001										8	2	0	6	8	21	−13
2005	Semi-finals	4	1	1	2	5	8	−3		10	4	4	2	16	7	+9
2009	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	5	5	0		Qualified as host
2013	Group stage	3	0	2	1	1	6	−5		8	6	1	1	22	4	+18
2017	Did not qualify									8	4	1	3	17	12	+5
2022	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	8	−7		8	7	1	0	24	2	+22
Total	4/13	14	3	3	8	12	27	−15		84	31	19	34	119	129	−10

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Cyprus Women's Cup

Cyprus Women's Cup record
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2012	7th place	4	1	1	2	6	7	−1
2013	7th place	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1
2014	12th place	4	0	1	3	1	8	−7
2015	9th place	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4
2016	8th place	4	0	1	3	3	8	−5
2018	11th place	4	1	1	2	4	7	−3
2019	9th place	4	1	1	2	3	6	−3
2020	Runners-up	3	1	1	1	7	6	−3
Total		24	6	8	17	22	43	−21

Nordic Football Championship

Women's Nordic Football Championship record
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1974	Third place	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6
1975	Third place	2	0	0	2	0	13	−13
1976	Third place	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4
1977	Third place	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5
1978	Third place	3	1	1	1	1	4	−3
1979	Third place	3	1	1	1	2	5	−3
1980	Fourth place	3	0	2	1	1	8	−7
1981	Runners-up	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
1982	Fourth place	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5
Total	9/9	23	3	6	14	9	56	−47

See also

• Sports in Finland
• Football in Finland
• Football Association of Finland (SPL)
• Finland women's national under-20 football team
• Finland women's national under-17 football team
• Finland national football team

References

External links

• Official website
• FIFA profile